Romans 1:14-16

I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the BarbariansÉ. So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you... For I am not ashamed to preach the gospel: ... the power of God unto salvation ...

Later in Romans 12: 8, Paul instructs us to owe no one anything except love. That is the epitome of Christian indebtedness. Because of the gospel’s power to save and change lives, there is no shame in preaching it.

Pray that today’s missionaries will recognize the gospel’s power to save peoples and societies. Pray for good strategy and boldness in their witness, especially for those working with hard-to-reach Brahmin peoples.

Missionary Biography, Continued

Perhaps Jones’ most important contribution was establishing ashrams, or spiritual retreat centers where Hindus and Christians could discuss religious matters in a non-threatening environment. Like the Hindus who first began ashrams, people came for several days to study in depth their spiritual natures and to come closer to God. Though he established them all over the world, the most important one was in Sat Tal, meaning “seven lakes.” This key ashram was in Uttar Pradesh, northern India.

In December of 1971 Jones suffered a stroke at one of his ashrams. This stroke weakened him considerably, but he managed to dictate his last book, “The Divine Yes” onto a tape recorder before he died a little more than a year later.

Thanks to E. Stanley Jones’ influence, many prominent Hindus have had the chance to really understand the gospel. He went out of his way to learn to use Hindu cultural forms, which he called “indigenization.” Though few have followed his difficult path, Jones showed us good ways to present Jesus to Hindus in a non-threatening, non-Western manner.

Pray that many others will take up the challenge of presenting Christ to caste Hindus in an understandable non-Western way.-KC